There are still too many who deny the science of global warming. Actually, the true controversy is whether humans have anything to do with it. Be that as it may, it's happening now. And, as God (or climate) giveth, so God taketh away. There are larks flying around and larkspur blooming in Alaska as the snow leaves sooner in the springtime and comes back later in the winter. There are islands in the Pacific Ocean disappearing as it rises. The Peruvian Andes are warming up to Irish potato blight while the villages high in Himalayan India begin to grow organic potatoes in land that has never had any crops before, where knee-deep snowfalls are history now, as reported on NPR, among other news outlets which some may call "fake."And, so what do we do with those who are losing their homes, their livelihoods, and ultimately, their sense of community? It's a conundrum, which some look to solve while others look away. Readers can get two perspectives, one non-fiction and one which could be in the year 2140. Of the two, Kim Stanley Robinson's might actually be more difficult to read. The speculative fiction (we don't have to call it "science" if you don't want us to!) presents a world recuperating from chaos, individual resilience and neighborly resourcefulness amidst timeless political & special interests maneuvering, divide between privilege & deprivation and lack of documentation versus the definition of belonging.
